News List

The broad-gauge railway line on the new Indo-Nepal railway route running from Janakpur (India) to Kurtha (Nepal) has been laid down, according to Mr. Aman Chitrakar, Senior Engineer, Department of Railways, Government of Nepal. The Government of India supported construction of the 35 kilometer-long railway route. Building of railway stations, terminal buildings, bridges and culverts along the route is approaching completion.

Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation, Government of India, and Mr. Tofail Ahmed, Minister of Commerce, Government of Bangladesh, held a bilateral meeting on 26 September 2018 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to discuss matters of trade, investment, and connectivity. The two ministers agreed to undertake a joint study for a potential Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and fast-track six new border haats.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a video conference, jointly inaugurated the 130-kilometer India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline Project, and the third and fourth dual-gauge rail lines in the Dhaka-Tongi section and dual-gauge rail line in the Tongi-Joydebpur section of Bangladesh Railway. The pipeline will support pumping of oil from India to Bangladesh, helping fulfill the country’s energy needs at less costly rates.

The Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board (NITDB) is upgrading the inland container depot in Birgunj, Nepal, to give it the capacity to handle dusty cargo, such as cement clinker and fly ash. NITDB is also planning to develop railway tracks to be linked directly to the new warehouses.

The Indian Railways successfully conducted a trial run from Jainagar (India) to Khajuri (Nepal) railway stations, using a cargo train carrying 5,000 tons of ballast. The 8.5 kilometer stretch is part of the Jainagar (India)-Janakpur (Nepal) broad gauge railway link being constructed to improve connectivity between India and Nepal.

Nepal's third country imports is growing with more importers tapping railway cargo for transport, according to data from Nepal's Dry Port Customs Office. The Sirsiya Dry Port in Birgunj accommodated 25% more import cargo in Fiscal Year 2017-2018. The Sirsiya Dry Port is close to the Indian border, with links to the Raxaul railway junction. It is the first and only rail-linked terminal in Nepal that facilitates third-country trade through India.

The Governments of India and Nepal convened the 6th Meeting of the Project Steering Committee for the Implementation of India-Nepal Cross Border Rail Link Projects. The Meeting highlighted the early finalization of the Memorandum of Understanding for the preliminary engineering/traffic survey of the Raxaul (India)-Kathmandu (Nepal) rail line.

Bangladesh’s Executive Committee of the National Economic Council has approved a project to install a high-voltage direct-current back-to-back substation at Comilla in Bangladesh for importing 500 megawatts of electricity from Tripura, India.

The Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India is reviewing feasibility studies for potential railway linkages between India and Bhutan. The studies conducted by the Northeast Frontier Railway include five possible routes.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council of the Government of Bangladesh approved the double laning of the railway track from Khulna to Darshana. Darshana, a rail transit point, lies on the Bangladesh-India border. Spanning around 217 kilometers, the double rail line will establish rail connectivity with India, with links toward Bhutan and Nepal. It will also provide access to Mongla Port.

The Government of India launched the test phase for railway movement of goods entering Nepal via the Biratnagar check post. The Container Corporation of India began carrying freight bound for Jogbani in Bihar, the nearest rail station to Biratnagar, on 25 April 2018. This development follows implementation of the electronic cargo tracking system.

The Government of Bangladesh's Cabinet Committee on Purchase approved a proposal to import 500 megawatts of electricity from India from June 2018 to May 2033 to help meet the country's energy demand. The Committee also cleared a proposal appointing Texmaco Rail and Engineering from India to build the dual gauge rail line from Akhaura to Agartala.

India and Nepal are set to be linked by rail with the agreement by the Governments of both countries to connect Raxaul, a border city in India, to Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city, by rail. Preparatory survey work will be conducted by the Government of India, in consultation with the Government of Nepal, for a new electrified rail line within one year.

India led a test run of the first container freight train from Kolkata, India, to Dhaka, Bangladesh on 3-4 April 2018. The rail service will be the first container train service between the two countries. It will reduce cost and transport time, thereby improving trade between India and Bangladesh.

The Government of Bangladesh plans to convert around 67 kilometers of meter-gauge rail line into dual gauge to establish railway connectivity with Bhutan, India, and Nepal. This move could help boost trade among the three countries.

Mr. Abul Maal A. Muhith, Finance Minister, Bangladesh, and Mr. Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister, India, signed the Third Line of Credit (LoC) from India to Bangladesh worth $4.5 billion, to be used for implementation of projects in connectivity. Mr. Jaitley lauded the outstanding relations between the two neighbors after a meeting with Mr. Muhith.

An electronic tracking system will soon ease traffic-in-transit for cargo traveling by road and rail from Kolkata to four major Customs points of Nepal, including the Raxaul route. Mr. Sandeep Kumar, Customs Commissioner, India, and Mr. Rabi Shanker Sainju, Commerce Ministry Joint Secretary, Nepal, signed a memorandum of intent to pilot the tracking system for a trial period of at least 90 days in late 2017.

The second meeting of the Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism, held on 30 January 2017 in Kathmandu, Nepal, reviewed progress of India-funded economic and development projects in Nepal, and agreed to expedite implementation of these projects for timely completion. Projects discussed included cross-border railways, integrated check posts, and cross-border transmission lines.

A railway network linking India and its neighboring countries, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Nepal, is being considered by the Government of India, according to India Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. Developing railway connectivity will increase employment, interaction, trade, and tourism.

Bangladesh Railway has set out a 20-year plan in a bid to increase the transport body’s market share. The plan includes 235 railway projects at a cost of $30 billion. The country currently has 2,877 kilometers of railroads and has made plans to add another 375 kilometers. ADB will be funding the 129-kilometer Dohazari-Gundum railway line at a cost of $1.5 billion. Such projects are expected to boost economic growth in Bangladesh.

The SASEC project portfolio has surpassed the $9 billion mark with the December 2016 approval of Nepal’s SASEC Roads Improvement Project, worth $256.5 million. There are now 44 SASEC investment projects worth a cumulative $9.13 billion. During 2016, seven projects have been approved for a total of $2.37 billion.

Nepal Minister for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat urged conclusion of the SAARC Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investment to deepen economic integration among South Asian countries, and emphasized the need to improve connectivity in the region at the inauguration of the Fourteenth Annual Conference of the South Asian Network of Economic Research.

A high-level panel formed by the Governments of India and Nepal will work to address bottlenecks in infrastructure projects in Nepal funded by the Government of India—including hydropower projects, roads and railways—to ensure their timely completion.

The Governments of India and Bangladesh have begun the process of acquiring land in Bangladesh to build the new India-Bangladesh railway project. The 15 kilometer (km) railway will connect Agartala (India) to Akhaura (Bangladesh), and reduce the 1,613-km mountainous distance between Agartala and Kolkata to 514 km.

The Asian Development Bank has approved a multitranche loan of $1.5 billion to the Government of Bangladesh for construction of a key section of the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar railway line—the largest ever investment in railways by ADB. The new line will improve Bangladesh’s access to Myanmar and beyond, facilitate trade, and boost tourism in southeastern Bangladesh.

As part of the Government of India’s Act East Policy, Indian Railways is set to provide a rail link to Bhutan to boost ties with its South Asian neighbors. Feasibility studies have been conducted for extended links between Kokrajhar-Gelephu, Rangiya-Samdrupjonkhar, Banarhat-Samtse, and Pathsala-Nanglam. India’s Northeast Frontier Railway has also undertaken survey work for rail connectivity to Nepal and Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is pushing for the development of railway corridors with India to facilitate trade and investment among BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal) countries. To help boost regional trade, Bangladesh Railway is looking to revive five routes to India, and build railway links to connect with Bhutan and Nepal.

India is upbeat on India-Bangladesh bilateral relations, particularly on connectivity and bilateral trade. Mr. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, High Commissioner of lndia to Bangladesh, emphasized at a Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry meeting, that Bangladesh is integral to India’s Act East Policy and noted the many efforts to link the two countries.

The 15-kilometer broad gauge rail service from Agartala, India to Akhaura, Bangladesh is set to be inaugurated in June 2016. Funded by the Government of India, the railway project will reduce the 1,650-km distance between Agartala and Kolkata to 550 km and is foreseen to boost bilateral trade and business between the two neighboring countries.

A railway agreement in the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) subregion is being proposed, in line with expansion of railway links boosting connectivity between India's Northeast and its BBIN neighbors. According to Mr. Mukul Kumar, Director (Transport), Railway Board, Ministry of Railways, Government of India, this initiative will facilitate cross-border transport of goods and people, and enable efficient multimodal transport system to integrate and sustain the region's economic growth.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) of Bangladesh approved an updated budget of around $2.3 billion for the 129.6 kilometer Dohazari-Ramu-Cox's Bazar dual gauge railway project. The proposed railway track will be linked to the Trans-Asian Railway, connecting Bangladesh to India and Myanmar.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally opened Bangladesh Railway’s 64-kilometer Tongi-Bhairab double-rail track on the Dhaka-Chittagong route, which is expected to speed up rail travel between Dhaka and Chittagong by at least an hour and a half. The Asian Development Bank funded the $162.5 million project through the SASEC program.

Indian Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha led a two-day visit to the northeastern state of Tripura to inaugurate its trial broad gauge passenger train, and review progress of ongoing railway projects, including the Agartala-Akhaura railway project, which connects the rail networks of Bangladesh and India, and Agartala-Sabroom, a future connecting point for Chittagong port in Bangladesh.

Regional integration between South and Southeast Asia remains relatively limited, hindered by various problems, including bottlenecks in transport infrastructure. Enhancements in road, railways, and port infrastructure, as well as new road and rail links between Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and Thailand will lower unit transport costs, reduce shipping times, and increase the quantity of goods, all of which will lead to increased trade.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay renewed their commitment to pursue the Golden Jubilee Railway line from Hasimara, India to Bhutan during the Chief Minister's call to Prime Minister Tobgay on 5 October 2015. Both sides agreed to review the railway project, and examine ways to resolve land-related issues.

The Asian Development Bank has approved additional financing for a SASEC transport project that supports preparation of high-priority railway and road projects in Bangladesh along the Trans-Asian Railway and the Asian Highway network. These transport projects will enhance cross-border traffic, expanding connectivity in the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal subregion and forming links between South Asia and Southeast Asia.

The Indian Government sanctioned about $155.8 million to lay a 15.06-kilometer (km) section of railtracks, connecting Indian Railways with Bangladesh through the North East. This India-funded Agartala-Akhaura railway junction in Bangladesh would reduce the distance from Agartala to Kolkata from 1,650 km to 515 km, avoid mountainous terrain, improve trade and commerce, and enhance connectivity.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is set to further enhance transport connectivity within Bangladesh, and between Bangladesh and India, through the SASEC Railway Connectivity: Akhaura-Laksam Double Track Project. This $505 million ADB project will upgrade critical sections of Bangladesh Railway's Dhaka-Chittagong corridor and boost its market share in freight services.

More than 170 tons of relief goods was sent by India to Nepal using the rail route from Old Delhi to Raxaul, in response to the earthquake in Nepal. Senior officials of India's National Disaster Management Authority supervised this relief effort. India's West Bengal Government also gave assistance by coordinating needed relief items with the Government of Nepal and the Nepal Army.

Bangladesh and India moved to establish a second cross-border railway link through Akhaura-Agartala to boost bilateral trade and business. The dual-gauge railway track to be funded by the Government of India will connect with the North-Eastern States of India and become the second effective railway corridor of the two neighboring countries.

Integrating sustainable development into the Asia-Pacific region's transport sector was a key focus of the Fourth Session of the Transport Committee organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). The event, held on 15-17 October 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand, was attended by over 120 participants from 34 countries, and discussed key aspects of transport policy and initiatives promoted by ESCAP.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa marked the completion of the 38 km long Pallai-Jaffna railway line under the Indian credit line of $800 million last 13 October 2014. The reconstruction of this Northern Railway line by IRCON International Ltd, a public sector enterprise under the Government of India, links Sri Lanka’s conflict-ridden Northern Province to Colombo.